Larb means good luck in Thai and is a dish usually served at celebratory events. It is usually made with minced meat such as pork or chicken. but it can be made with tofu as a meat substitute. If you want to use tofu, buy ‘hard tofu’ and cut it into cubes. Otherwise use a traditional minced pork or chicken.
Ingredients
tofu or minced meat as described above
a little bit of oil just to coat a frying pan
green beans, cut up small *
mushrooms, cut up small *
common mint, coriander, spring onions, chopped small
ground roasted rice **
ground chilli
soy sauce
lime juice
* these vegetables are not essential if using meat but can be an option to add
** this is an essential part of larb. Dry roast rice until brown, then crush into powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
Method
Cook the minced meat or tofu with a little oil, set aside.
Cook the veggies the same way and set aside to cool to room temperature. Do not over cook.
Prepare all the herbs and place in a salad bowl.
Add all cooked meat, or tofu and veggies. Toss with the ground roasted rice, chillies, lime and soy sauce to taste.
The taste should be predominantly lime with a supporting cast of soy sauce. You can add half a teaspoon of sugar if you want it sweeter.
Author
Duang Tengtrirat
Research